Remove the rice from the pan, then put the pan back on the heat, add half the coconut oil at a time and fry the rice in two batches until starting to turn lightly brown and really crispy. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt.
Now make your dressing. Put the zest and juice of the lime into a screwtop jar with the sumac, if using, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, add the honey and a pinch of salt and pepper. Put on the lid and shake to combine.
De-stone and roughly chop the dates and add to the kale. Once the rice is almost cool, add it to the kale and toss in the dressing.
Lemongrass, peanut and herb bun cha
20 MINUTES
You can’t live in east London and fail to be inspired by the endless and sometimes brilliant Vietnamese restaurants that line the streets of Hackney. Outside London, though, it’s harder to lay your hands on the bright fresh food I love so much.
This bun cha is a fragrant, delicate rice noodle salad. I have taken the original Hanoi recipe and made my own chilli-spiked tofu version, half noodles, half salad, all flavour. I eat this when it’s hot or when I need something clean and cleansing. Here many of my favourite things jump into the same bowl: crispy tofu, bright and zippy vegetables, grassy avocado and sprightly herbs.
If you can get your hands on them, some Vietnamese herbs would take this bun cha to the next level – Vietnamese basil, mint, coriander and pasilla – but I’ve kept it simple with some mint and coriander here.
SERVES 2
FOR THE TOFU
200g firm tofu
1 red chilli
1 clove of garlic
½ a stalk of fresh lemongrass
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 lime
1 tablespoon peanut butter
coconut oil
FOR THE NOODLES AND VEG
125g rice vermicelli
½ a small iceberg lettuce
1 large carrot
½ a cucumber
2 spring onions
½ a ripe avocado
a small bunch of fresh coriander
50g unsalted peanuts
a small bunch of fresh mint
or other herbs (see here)
FOR THE DRESSING
2 teaspoons runny honey or maple syrup
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
the juice of 2 limes
First, chop the tofu into 0.5cm fingers and put into a bowl. Finely chop the chilli and finely chop the garlic and the lemongrass stalk, then put half
the chilli and garlic aside for later and add the rest to the bowl of tofu with all the lemongrass, the soy sauce and the juice of half the lime. Put the tofu to one side.
Mix the juice from the other lime half with the peanut butter and a splash of water and put to one side.
Next, put the noodles into a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to soak for 3 minutes, or follow the packet instructions.
Now chop the vegetables – you can use a food processor or a mandolin to speed this up. Shred the iceberg and cut the carrot and cucumber into matchsticks. Finely slice the spring onions and slice the avocado thinly. Roughly chop the coriander and then the peanuts.
Make the dressing by mixing the reserved chilli and garlic with the rest of the dressing ingredients.
Heat a pan and add a little coconut oil. Drain the tofu, reserving the marinade. Once the pan is hot, add the tofu to the pan and fry until browned on all sides, then add the peanut butter mixture and the reserved marinade and toss to coat. Take off the heat.
Pile the drained noodles into two bowls and top with the vegetables, coriander, peanuts and the mint or herb sprigs. Finally, put the tofu and any of the marinade left in the pan on top and pour over the dressing. Mix up at the table.
Goodness bowls
I make a goodness bowl for myself at least once a week; they are a quick, easy and totally adaptable dinner which can be tweaked throughout the seasons to be hearty, light, refreshing – whatever you feel like. I have laid out the building blocks and given you some examples of my favourites. Check out my recipes for Seeded halloumi and harissa rainbow bowl (here) and Plantain, avocado and black bean bowl (here) to get the idea.
Here are some of the ingredients I use most often. Pick from each column. Make a dressing with 1 part acid (lemon/vinegar) to 2 parts oil and you can’t go wrong.
Plantain, avocado and black bean bowl
20–25 MINUTES
Sometimes I fall head over heels for a food and I can’t stop eating it. For a few weeks this year it was plantain. It fills the greengrocers around where I live and I almost always pass my hand over it to reach for sweet potatoes or parsnips. Well, no more. Plantain is my new sweet potato; it adds natural sweetness to my dinners and is super quick to cook and prepare. This dish is my love letter to plantain. I promise I’ll never overlook you again.
This bowl is a meeting place for a whole world of flavours: chilli-spiked smoky black beans, caramel-crusted plantain, creamy avo and sweet leeks and zingy lime. It’s a serious flavour-filled bowl of goodness.
It also works really well with short-grain brown rice in place of the quinoa. I opt for brown rice when I feel like something more filling, but it takes much longer to cook, so bear that in mind.
SERVES 4
a mugful of quinoa (about 200g)
1 tablespoon of vegetable stock powder, or ½ a stock cube
1 green chilli
1 × 400g tin of black beans
a pinch of ground cinnamon
2 large leeks
coconut oil
2 handfuls of interesting mushrooms (about 250g)
2 ripe avocados
2 limes
2 large plantains
Fill and boil a kettle and get all your ingredients and equipment together.
Weigh out the quinoa in a mug or measuring jug, making note of the level it comes up to, then pour it into a large saucepan. Fill the mug to the same level with boiling water and add to the pan, then repeat so you have double the volume of water to quinoa. Add the stock powder or cube, put the pan on a high heat and cook the quinoa at a steady simmer for 10–12 minutes, until almost all the water